How Do You Do?
by The Armadist
Summary: Callum had gone looking for Ezran just a little sooner and Harrow is still killed. The two princes escape the castle and encounter the elves sent to kill the king. As political prisoners, the elves take them with to Xadia to return the egg. Back at the castle, Viren poses as an ally whilst tasking his children to kill the princes.
1. Chapter 1

"Please tell me this isn't what I think It is." Callum says staring at the glowing egg.  
"But-"  
"That's a rhetorical question, Ez. "  
"It's the egg of Dragon Prince. I saw an illustration of it in one of dad's books."  
The dim light of Viren's lab cast shadows everywhere, the strange objects and creatures in jars only made more terrifying by the bright glow of the egg, making everything darker by comparison.  
"We need to tell King Harrow." Callum said.  
Claudia came in just as Ezran was about to put the egg in Callum's pack.  
"What are you doing in here?" Claudia asked.  
"Claudia, did you know about this?" Callum asked, somehow keeping the hurt out of his voice.  
"Yeah, I was the first person to find out the egg survived."  
"But how? I thought it was destroyed."  
"My father saved it."  
"Saved it? From what?"  
"From Xadia. He knew the elves and dragons would use it against us one day. This way no one gets hurt." She said.  
"Except its mother who thinks her baby is dead." Ezran pointed out.  
Claudia turned to him and gave him a look.  
"Ezran, please give me the egg."  
"No."  
"Ezran, please. If anyone ever found out, it could spell disaster for Katolis."  
Callum knew Claudia's heart was in the right place but he was hesitant to give her the egg. He knew his brother had already bonded to it from the way he was clutching the egg. He couldn't let it be harmed and he knew that's all that would happen if it was left in Viren's hands. But what were they going to do? The only exit was behind them and Callum didn't fancy their chances with their backs turned. Claudia knew magic and Callum...well, Callum was bad at everything.  
Maybe they should just give her the egg and hope for the best?  
"Callum." Ezran said, looking at him pleadingly.  
That made him pause. Ezran was his brother. He already screwed up once today as a big brother, he didn't want to hurt him again. If king Harrow died...  
He let that thought trail off and left it there.  
Callum shared a look with Ezran and in that single gaze, he conveyed a simple message. Run.  
Ezran ran down the passage with Bait, not needing to be told twice.  
"Ezran, come back!" Claudia yelled.  
She turned to Callum, "I promise not to hit Ez." and drew a rune of lightning. She was about to cast as Callum knocked the Primal source out of her hand and locked her in a chain.  
"Callum! What are you doing?!"  
"The right thing. I hope. I'm sorry Claudia!" He said before he scooped up the Primal stone and ran after Ezran. With the egg in Callum's pack, they fled up the stairs.  
They ran through the hallways and corridors until they reached the familiar door of their parent's room.  
Callum remembered happier days, sitting on the bed with their mother as she telling stories about faraway lands and happy endings. Ezran had still been too young at the time to remember her but Callum did. He remembered her gentle smiles and soothing voice or at least, he thinks he did.  
The guilt he felt for forgetting her haunted him every day. Nothing ever felt the same after she died.  
Two guards protected the door to king Harrow's chambers. Ezran wanted to go in but the two guards blocked them before they could so much as knock.  
"I am sorry, my prince but the king is busy in a meeting with Lord Viren and cannot be disturbed." The one on the left said holding up a hand.  
"But this is important! You have to let us through!" Ezran said.  
"I'm sorry my prince, but orders are orders." He said.  
"Do you know when their meeting will end? This is really important." Callum asked.  
"I don't know Prince Callum, though they tend to last long. You should go pack for your journey. You can talk to the king later."  
"But-" Just as Ezran was about to protest the doors opened and Lord Viren walked past them as quickly as he could, a basket clasped under his arm.  
"Callum! Ezran! What are you doing here? You're suppose to be packing." King harrow said in surprise when he saw them through the open door.  
"We needed to come talk to you. It's important. " Callum said awkwardly.  
"Of course! Come in." He said and sat on one of the chairs, gesturing for them to sit. "What's on your mind?"  
Callum looked down at the floor and not for the first time he wondered if his step-dad knew all along.  
Callum stammered, trying to ask the question that could mean treason.  
"What is it? You know you can talk to me about anything." Harrow said patiently.  
"Did you know Lord Viren stole the Dragon Prince's egg?" Ezran asked, braver and blunter than Callum could ever hope to be in the king's presence.  
"What are you talking about? The egg was destroyed. Its why this whole mess started." He said.  
"The egg survived. We found it inside Lord Viren's creepy secret lab." Callum said.  
"Secret lab? What secret lab are you talking about? Never mind. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?" The king asked as he tugged at his hair.  
"No, we're certain." Callum said before he placed the egg on the table.  
Harrow stared at the egg in wonder. The egg glowed a light blue, as if to say 'here I am!'. It was beautiful in every way.  
"How could this be? I thought it was destroyed."  
"What are we going to do, dad?" Ezran asked, clutching the egg tightly to his chest.  
Harrow snapped back to reality and stared at his sons determinedly. He stood up and started to pace the room.  
"First, you two are going to your room to pack for the journey. I'll deal with Viren. I want you to leave the egg here." I promise I'll keep the egg safe."  
Ezran started to protest, he didn't want to let Lord Viren close to the egg, before King Harrow silenced him with a hand.  
"I understand your concerns Ezran but I promise I'll keep the egg safe. I know you want to protect the egg and trust me when I say I don't want Viren anywhere near it, however, I will not tolerate putting you or the egg in danger." He said sternly.  
They knew their dad and knew they would never win this argument, not when he felt so strongly about something. He was a stubborn man like that. With some reluctance Ezran gave in and petted the egg affectionately, saying goodbye.  
Harrow called for one of the servants to find Lord Viren as the two princes got ready to leave again, the egg now placed on the table in a nest hastily made from the blankets on the bed. The egg was covered as to not attract attention as well as to keep it warm.  
Sure, it might have stood in Viren's cold lab for nearly four months but that didn't mean it should be.  
As they were about to leave, King Harrow called out,  
"Prince Callum! I need to speak with you quickly before you go." He said.  
Callum motioned for Ezran to go, "I'll catch up later."  
He closed the door behind him, worry gnawing at him.  
"Yes, sir? What is it you wanted to talk about?" Callum asked, bowing at the waist.  
Harrow sighed. "None of that. I-I know I'm not your birth father but I want you to know that... this isn't easy, so the most important things I've written down." He said as he  
"A letter?"  
"I was going to give it to you later but I don't know when I will see you again. I want you to break the seal when...well you'll know when."  
"If you get killed. But you have the egg! Why can't you just make peace with the elves?"  
"It's not that simple Callum."  
"It seems very simple to me. You don't want to die. I'm sure the elves and dragons don't want to die. Why can't you just give back the egg and make peace?"  
"There are centuries of history, of wrongs committed on both sides. I have done many terrible things. I thought they were necessary but now...I don't know anymore."  
" I'm going to give this back to you this weekend, okay. I'm not going to have to open this." Callum said nodding.  
Harrow smiled sadly. "Take care of your brother for me."  
Callum hesitated for a second before he hugged Harrow. It was a rather emotional hug that felt so right after years of not knowing where they stood with each other. It felt like home and family, the type of affection that only a dad can give.  
They separated a second later.  
"You'll be okay. The elves won't kill you and you won't have to kill them and everything will be fine. You'll see." Callum said.  
There was a sudden knock on the door before Lord Viren walked through and bowed.  
"My king, you called for me?" He asked.  
The king turned towards him as Viren came further into the room.  
"Yes. It has come to my attention that you did not destroy the egg of the Dragon Prince as you said and had instead brought it here. Explain yourself." The dreadlock king said.  
"My king! What-I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Viren stuttered before his eyes fell on Callum, who stood slightly behind his step-father.  
He sneered.  
"What lies has the boy poisoned your mind with? He is far too spoiled! You-"  
"I would hold your tongue if I were you. Callum is my son and you are not allowed to talk to either of the princes in such a way. " King Harrow said coldly.  
"What have you done Viren? I've known you for years. What made you think this was a good idea?"  
Suddenly Lord Viren became very angry.  
"I couldn't let them use it against us. They would have used it as a weapon against us, another Thunder would replace the sky! I was protecting us!"  
"You doomed us when you stole that egg!"  
"You are so ungrateful! You are never satisfied with anything I do! Why can't you understand? I had to do it! We couldn't lose an opportunity to use their own weapon against them." Viren shouted.  
"Its an egg!"  
Callum stood awkwardly at the back of the room. They had forgotten he was there.  
They continued shouting at each other until,  
"You just have to blame me for everything! I am not the reason Sarai died. You did that all on your own! You killed your wife through your own actions, not mine!"  
A sudden hush fell over the room.  
"Don't you dare." King Harrow said in a deadly cold voice.  
Viren laughed a nasty laugh.  
"You know, I just realized something."  
Callum had a bad feeling about this. It was always a bad sign when adults suddenly went from angry to calm.  
Harrow seemed to agree if his suddenly tense shoulders and hand on his sword were any indications.  
"Oh?"  
"I have been serving you loyally for years, only to be repaid in harsh words and ungratefulness."  
He turned around and Harrow drew his sword.  
" I understand now that Katolis cannot win the war while a weak king sits on the throne."  
He blew dust into the air and started chanting.  
Hearing the chanting coming from the other side of the doorway, the two guards burst into the room with their swords drawn and tried to stop the dark mage from harming their king.  
With a few uttered words three shadow wolves came to life and killed the soldiers. Callum stood frozen from his place by the wall, staring at the horror taking place around him  
"Run Callum!" Harrow shouted.  
He had some experience with the creatures and knew they wouldn't stop until he was dead. All he could hope was that he could distract Viren enough for Callum to escape.  
Callum ran to the door and grabbed the egg on the way out before hesitating.  
"What about you? I won't leave you!"  
"Go! Take Ezran and Run!'' He said before he was covered by purple smoke.  
Callum ran.

Moonshadow Elf camp  
Sitting alone in self-pity and guilt for hours after she had been thrown off the mission, Rayla discovered, was a rather boring activity. The others were ignoring her, which in itself wasn't really the problem. They were assassins. They were a rather quiet lot, as they should be. After all, a loud assassin was a dead assassin.  
The problem was that there was an undercurrent of animosity. Sure they didn't actually yell and scream and insult her but she felt their cold eyes on her at all times. They went on as if nothing was wrong and she felt so... Ugh about the whole affair. If only she could right her wrongs. If only she could prove herself.  
Runaan was disappointed in her. That hurt, more than even she knew. He had raised her, taught her how to fight, how to scavenge for food in the wilderness, how to survive. He had taken care of her, had loved her as his own daughter, had shown her immense kindness, had believed in her and she had let him down.  
Her mind was a loop of regret and despair, only having an odd thought or two that wasn't related to the above-mentioned topic before she spiraled down the same line of thought over and over again.  
Runaan dropped down from where he had been scouting from a tree. He approached her and she stood up, not wanting to be sitting when she finally had a chance to stand without feeling awkward.  
"Come with me." He said and walked past her. She started to follow when a sudden nerve-racking pain swept through her and, for a second she wondered if she had been killed her for her mistakes. The pain came and went so fast, however, she wondered if her mind wasn't just playing tricks on her. If it weren't for the fact that all of the other elves had collapsed at the same time she had, all except Runaan who had managed to stay on his knees, she would have had no cause to think differently.  
"What happened?" She heard one of the others say but she didn't know who, too busy staring at the red ribbon which had been bound across her arm just a moment before.  
Far into the distance, bells rang.  
The king of Katolis, a good man and a kind king, a father of two children and man of great hair, was dead.


	2. Chapter 2

Callum ran down the corridors, his heart beating a rhythm against his ribcage. Behind him he heard twin howls, sending terror shuddering down his spine. The egg was a heavyweight in his arms, slowing him down. He had to escape. He had to find Ezran and they had to get out of the castle. He didn't know where they would go, but he knew they couldn't stay here. Viren had attacked the king and things were not looking too great for them.

The wolves howled behind him, a sharp sound against the quiet hallways. They hadn't been that close two minutes ago. He ran around a corner and promptly ran into a dead end. He and Ezran hadn't spent a lot of time in that part of the castle. Why would they?

Callum turned to run to where he knew the hallway branched into a new corridor only to curse.

The two smoke wolves growled at him from where they were blocking his escape. There were only a few meters separating them. Without warning, they sprang at him and somehow, he managed to dodge before they could land on him, only gaining a few claw marks on his back. The egg was still clutched in his arms, and by some miracle, unharmed. He doubted it would be if he stayed any longer.

He didn't get very far however before they were on him again. He had glanced behind him just as the shadow wolf on his left knocked him down on his back. It was surprisingly heavy for an incarnation born of candle smoke and a bit of magic dust. The egg had rolled out of his arms during the fall but Callum ignored it in favor of the threat currently on top of him.

Callum had a sudden epiphany. What if they were just there to slow him down so Lord Viren could kill Callum himself? MAybe he could get out of there and they wouldn't kill him. He tried to test his theory by moving his arm slightly but the wolf on top of him growled before suddenly biting into the soft flesh between Callum's neck and shoulder. He screamed and tried to dislodge it by throwing his fist through its smokey back, only for his fist to go right through. However, it had forced the smoke wolf to retreat to its partner.

Callum scrambled up from where he had lain as the two started to circle him. His raw shoulder screamed at the movement and Callum almost collapsed as black spots dotted his vision.

He started to hyperventilate, not only from the long run through the castle but from the realization that there wasn't a chance of him getting out of this one alive. His eyes burned from where he had been blinded by the smoke and tears threatened to fall.

He was tired and everything hurt so much. He didn't know where Ezran was and the chances were King Harrow was dead. He'd never given much thought to how he would one day die but he'd never thought it be so soon or even like this. Killed by the king's most trusted advisor, torn to pieces and left in a cold hallway. What a way to go. He could only pray that Ezran didn't meet the same end.

'I'll see you soon, mum.' He thought.

There was a sudden shout from behind him and the wolves lunged. Callum curled in on himself, waiting for the pain to come yet none came. The wolves sailed over his head and attacked the guard he hadn't noticed behind him. She valiantly tried to fight them off but her sword only passed through without harming them.

Callum had a sudden idea and crawled to his pack, which had been knocked away from him when he had fallen. He grabbed it and pulled out the Primal stone he had stolen from Claudia.

He hesitated for a second only before the woman's scream made his decision for him.

"Please work." He drew the rune in the air and blew. "Aspiro!"

The spiraling wind blew the smoke monsters away with a howl. It was too late, however. The guard was dead, her body bloody and mangled beyond recognition.

Callum stared at it for a few horrifying moments before he started retching. The guard's sword had been knocked out of her hand and things had spiraled down from there. He fell to his knees, hardly five meters away from the fallen guard who saved his life.

He knew he couldn't linger much longer, he knew if he fell to despair now, he would never get back up again.

He took a deep breath and stood up, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. He needed to find Ezran and get out of there. Too many had died already today, he couldn't afford for his brother to be another of Viren's victims.

He grabbed the egg and started making his way through the castle. Why he took it with him, he had no idea. It was slowing him down and he didn't need that right now. He took it with him anyway. If he had to come up with an excuse, he would just say it was because he didn't want Viren to use it against them or something along there.

He had found their room empty. The place was messy and in a disarray but that was nothing unusual. Bedsheets were crumpled, clothes streamed about, a few mugs on the table after Callum pulled an all-nighter drawing. Before he left, he shoved his coin purse and a few jelly tarts he found on a plate into his bag with the primal stone. He left shortly after in search of Ezran. It was as he was wondering the east side that he heard it.

"Callum! Callum, where are you?"

Down in the courtyard stood Ezran, clutching Bait to his chest. He had gone looking for Callum after he had finished packing when the alarm was raised. A group of guards had found him and dragged him with them, claiming that the castle was under attack by Moonshadow elves.

"Where are you taking us?" Ezran asked as they led him through the hallways.

"To Lord Viren. He'll be able to protect you."

Ezran had never liked Lord Viren and he didn't trust him one bit. Why would the elves attack in the daylight if they would be strongest at tonight's full moon? It didn't make sense. Sure, they could have done it to throw them off but he didn't think that was the case.

Despite what many thought, Ezran wasn't stupid. 'Moonshadow elves' attacking just as Viren was in a meeting with the king? Something didn't match up.

Ezran snuck away from them when they had conveniently stopped next to a secret passage, so one of them could tie their shoelace. Bait shone like a light as they navigated through the dark tunnels. He had to find Callum. How he ended up in the courtyard, he couldn't say.

Callum raced down the stairs towards Ezran and stopped next to him hunched over, panting with his hands on his knees.

"Callum! What's going on? Where's dad?" Ezran asked worriedly.

Callum shook his head. "We need to get out here. I'll explain on the way. Come on. We need to go, now!"

Ezran looked worried but they couldn't worry about that just now. Callum grabbed his wrist. Together they ran out the gate and into the forest, the egg clutched tightly in Callum's arms. It was ridiculously easy, the guards having abandoned their posts in favor of seeing the action taking place in the castle.

They ran for what felt like hours, their lungs burning for oxygen.

"Callum, please. I can't breath." Ezran panted from where he was slumped over.

"We can't. We need to keep going." Callum urged.

"Callum please, I can't go any further."

Callum shot a worried look at the castle behind them before he sighed. "Fine but we can't stay long."

The castle was too close for comfort but Ezran was right. They couldn't go any further without a short breather. They weren't used to running so far, especially with a weight as heavy as the egg.

Things didn't look good for them. It might have taken them over half an hour to get to this point but it wouldn't even take ten minutes on horseback. Callum prayed they would be too busy to send out any men to find them. At least long enough for them to get away, that's all he asked.

"Callum."

They had to get somewhere populated where Viren wouldn't be able to get them but where? If he could attack the king in a castle on high alert, then where would they be safe?

"Callum."

Callum was freaking out from where he sat on a large rock. What were they going to do? Callum was holding a dragon egg for goodness sake!

"Callum!"

Callum flinched as Ezran shouted in his ear.

"What?"

"Are you okay? You've been staring at that rock for almost fifteen minutes now." Ezran asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He lied. His back and shoulder burned, he felt like he was going to be sick and the day's events had left him numb. He was not fine.

"Are you sure?" Ezran asked, looking at his pale face.

"Yeah Ez. Just tired."

Ezran didn't look convinced but he let it go. They had bigger problems.

"What happened Callum?"

Callum sighed and told him what had transpired at the castle, leaving all the worse parts out. Ezran didn't need to know all the gory details.

"-then I did the spell I saw Claudia do earlier in the library. Anyway-"

"That's so cool! My brother's a mage!" Ezran exclaimed.

"Ez, I'm not a mage."

"But you did magic. That means your a mage."

"I'm not-I'm a mage." Callum murmured. His eyes widened before he smiled. "I'm a mage!"

"Shh. Bait's sleeping." Ezran said.

"Sorry." Callum knew how Bait was when he was woken up by someone who wasn't Ezran.

"I hope the guard who saved you is okay," Ezran said.

"Yeah," Callum said, feeling slightly awkward. "anyway, we need to keep moving. We've stayed here far too long. I don't know where we're going but we need to get some supplies before we do anything else. Jellytarts aren't going to keep us fed forever." He said and Ezran nodded.

Ezran insisted on carrying the egg and Callum didn't argue. He, in turn, insisted on carrying Bait. They couldn't afford to lag behind just because Bait couldn't hop fast enough. He wouldn't let his brother carry all the weight either, despite how tired he was. Bait was heavy but he wasn't as heavy as the egg and was far easier to carry. His shoulder still pained but it was manageable.

They had been walking for quite some time before Callum had decided they were far enough for the night. He would have preferred being far enough away to not be able to see the castle, however, he knew they couldn't have gone much further that night.

They bedded down and went to sleep.

Nightmares plagued Callum throughout the night. Tossing and turning in his sleep, Callum woke up with a start, breathing harshly in the cold light of the rising sun. Ezran slept next to him, clutching the egg to his chest, whilst Bait slept between his shoulder and neck. They were still okay.

'They were going to be okay, no matter what.' He thought.

He was going to make sure of it. He wouldn't let anything hurt Ezran. He wasn't going to lose Ez. He couldn't bare the thought of Ezran getting hurt. He was all he had left.

Callum had reassured Ezran that dad would be okay, but he wasn't so certain. The wolves were so fast and strong. He didn't think anyone could survive their wrath. He would keep that to himself until he knew for sure. Though the chances were slim, there was a small hope that Harrow survived. He was the best fighter in all of Katolis, besides the Moonshadows elves, but they didn't really count. He wasn't sure if that would help against dark magic, however.

He took out the Primal stone and stared at it. The feeling he had gotten from doing magic was sullied by the memory of death and despair. It had felt right when he had done magic, like nothing he had ever experienced before. The closest he had ever come to that feeling of weightless glee was when he did art.

He resolved to sketch it later and put the Primal orb back into his pack. He went and woke Ezran up, who only turned on his other side which sent Bait tumbling. Bait didn't like being woken up so early either and decided that if he had to be awake, so did Ezran and proceeded to lick him.

Turns out toad spit is a great alarm clock.

"Quit it Bait! I'm Up. I'm up." He said.

After a quick breakfast of jelly tarts, they started walking again.

"We should go to the Banther lodge. They have supplies there. And beds." Ezran said.

Callum felt like hitting himself. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

At least they were going in the right direction.

Rayla was watching the two humans who had stopped for lunch.

Everyone in camp had been too stressed out from the ribbon incident to stay where they had been camped out and had traveled during the night, using the power they would have used for the assassination to move quickly and quietly.

Runaan had explained to her the reason why the ribbons falling off had hurt so much.

"You see Rayla," he had said, "the reason is very simple. We were supposed to kill the king. Even if we just threw him off the balcony or poisoned him, we still killed him. However if someone else kills him, we technically failed our mission."

Things were still tense in camp but for a different reason now. Everyone had mostly forgotten about her screw up, mostly focused now on what happened. The death of the king had been too sudden.

After a while she had started going stir crazy, things had gotten just a bit too stifling for her, so she had eagerly volunteered for patrol when asked.

She had patrolled a five-kilometer radius around camp and had been about to return when she had heard them. She had followed the sounds of laughter until she had come across two boys.

A young boy who looked no older than nine or ten was walking with an older boy in his teens. They looked like polar opposites, however, they acted like best friends. She felt a familiar feeling coming from them but it could be that she just missed her own family. Sure, Runaan was with her but he was her leader and she couldn't really talk to him like she normally would.

"Callum, do you think Claudia will be angry with us for locking her up in a creepy dungeon?" The short one asked.

"I don't know Ez. Technically it was a lab full of magic stuff and she is a mage, so I'm sure she got out. She'll be okay." The one called Callum said.

They had walked for a few more minutes before they had stopped for lunch. They ate a few jelly tarts and talked about nothing. Rayla had been about to leave, they weren't any threat but she would tell Runaan about them anyway when she heard something that made her ears perk up.

"Do you think dad's okay?"

"I don't know Ez but whatever is happening in the castle right now, it isn't good." Callum said solemnly.

They knew something about the castle. She had to tell Runaan. They could use all the information they could get their hands on.

She leaped through the trees and made her way back to camp.

A few minutes later, she landed in front of Runaan and could barely contain her excitement. That made Runaan become instantaneously suspicious. He had raised her and knew what that look meant.

"Runaan! I saw two human boys on patrol. They-"

"Did you kill them?" He asked.

"What? No! They have information we could use. I overheard them talk about the castle. They might know what happened."

He sighed. Of course, she hadn't. He should have known. At least this could potentially work out in their favor.

"Where are they?" He asked as he stood up, his weapons strapped to his back. The others had stopped what they were doing when Rayla had reported back.

"Last I saw they were just outside the five-kilometer mark to the east. They were eating lunch near the river." She said before Runaan motioned for Kiara and Ram to accompany him. They dropped what they were doing and grabbed their weapons.

Rayla came with to show them the way. Despite her flaws, she was a good fighter and could walk with the best of them.

She led them back to where she had found them, only to find it empty. However, that had been expected and soon they were tracking the boys from the shadow of the trees.

They found them walking down a worn path, each carrying a bag over their shoulders. They looked tired. They two boys chattered about inconsequential things, oblivious to the four elven assassins stalking them from above, waiting for the best opportunity to strike.

Runaan didn't care about whatever information Rayla seemed to think they knew. If they were a threat to his squad, he would need to deal with it. LIstening to them, he was surprised at their youth. They were surprisingly young to walk around a forest known to harbor assassins. He sighed. He would make their deaths as painless as possible.

...

They had been walking in silence for less than a minute before Ezran started up again.

"Callum?"

"Yeah, Ez?"

"What are we going to do about the egg? It needs to go home."

Callum paused before he sighed. "I don't know Ez. We'll figure out what to do with the egg when we get to the Banther lodge."

"But Callum," Ezran whined, "It needs to go back to its mother."

"Ez, it's not like we can just stroll into Xadia and return the egg of the dragon prince that everyone, including us, thought was destroyed! We need to come up with a plan, one that hopefully doesn't involve us getting killed."

The two boys walked on, unaware of the three assassins left gaping at that statement. Well, that seemed like the perfect time to do something, after all, you can't just leave something like that in the air.

They landed around the two boys with their weapons drawn and raised. Callum and Ezran froze. They were surrounded. Callum started panicking, trying to come up with a plan to get them out of the mess they were in when a sharp pain in the back of his head ended everything.

"Ow, my head..."

Callum woke up disorientated. His entire body hurt, his shoulder and back throbbing painfully. Soren must have really put him through his steps if he felt like this. He tried to move his arms so he could rub his eyes, only for them to refuse to move. His eyes snapped open and he squinted.

His arms were tied to his sides as thick ropes circled around the tree he was stuck to. He struggled against it but the rope was strong, only aggravating his wounds and making him feel dizzy and nauseous. He slumped before a sudden thought struck him. Where was Ezran?

Had they killed him? Or worse, what if they were torturing him or something? What if they were drinking his blood and he was somewhere dying and Callum couldn't help him and he was scared and oh no what was he going to do, he was supposed to protect his baby brother and he failed and-

Relief flooded him when he spotted Ezran tied to the tree next to him. He was unconscious but unharmed as far as Callum could tell. Callum hoped that the knock Ezran took didn't do any serious damage to his head. Bait laid near them in a sack, only his head sticking out. His skin was glowing a deep red, croaking irritatedly at Callum when he noticed him.

The elves around them were busy either sharpening their weapons or doing chores around camp. An elf with the longest hair Callum had ever seen (Claudia would be so jealous) walked over to him and frowned.

"You're finally awake I see. Humans are so fragile." He sighed.

Callum wondered if that was meant as a threat because he felt very much intimidated by that statement.

"Tell me, how did the egg of the Dragon Prince survive and more importantly, how did two human children came into possession of it."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Callum lied.

"Liar. We searched your bags. Speak the truth or your head won't be the only thing hurting anymore. " Runaan growled.

Callum didn't know it but it was an empty threat. He wouldn't actually hurt the boy. Children were precious and the thought of hurting one made him feel sick. He might have vowed to kill prince Ezran but he felt no joy in it. He might have killed the two boys if they were a true threat but it was so obvious they weren't. However he needed to know what was going on, or else he might make a mistake that could get his whole squad killed.

"I-um." Was all he could get out before Runaan grew impatient and jerked him forward by his collar.

"Speak before I lose my temper child. How did the king die?" He hissed, still holding Callum up by the collar of his jacket.

Callum went rigid from shock. It was as if the whole world faded around him. The words bounced around his head like an echo of a long forgotten dream.

"He's dead?" He said softly. "No! He can't be dead! Not like that! He couldn't-not like that! You're lying. "

Runaan looked unimpressed by his argument.

"Focus! What happened?"

Callum took a deep breath to calm himself but it was hard. Should he tell him what happened? It was clear they knew about the egg. They probably already had it hidden in a secure location. But they didn't know about king Harrow. He couldn't exactly use the information as a bargaining chip. If he did, the best case scenario would be they would laugh at his face. He didn't want to think about the worse case.

Plus if they found the primal stone, they might think they had wanted to use it for dark magic or something. He needed to explain the situation or else things would turn real ugly real fast. Callum had heard the stories of what Xadians did to dark magic users and it wasn't a pretty picture.

"He-he killed the king. They-"

"Who killed the king?" Runaan demanded.

"Lord-lord Viren did. He's the high mage of the court. They had an argument because he had lied to king Harrow and things escalated. He said Katolis didn't need a weak king and he used dark magic to conjure these-" Callum swallowed harshly.

"He killed the guards who tried to stop him and then he-he...there was so much blood." He said, lost in the memories.

He took a steadying breath. He needed to get a grip. He couldn't show any more weakness to the creatures who had been sent to kill his step-dad.

Runaan took all this in before he asked the question that he suspected the answer for.

"What did your high mage lie about to warrant him killing the king of Katolis to keep it secret?" He asked.

"The egg. King Harrow hadn't known about the egg. He was angry at Viren for starting the war."

Runaan cursed.

"What's your name?" He asked.

Callum hesitated. What if the rumor that elves could steal your soul if they knew your name was true? Sure, it sounded like horse droppings to him, but all myths had a kernel of truth in them. Runaan's glare was a big motivator though.

"Callum."

"Tell me, Callum, how did you come into possession of the egg?"

Callum gulped. He needed to word this correctly. If what he understands of the situation is correct, they didn't know they had the two princes of Katolis tied up and vulnerable. If he played this right, they might have a chance to get out. If they found out, they would be dead in seconds. If there was even a chance of Ez making it out of this unharmed he would take it.

Callum looked down at the ground before he muttered something that not even Runaan's sharp ears could pick up.

"What? Speak up!"

"We took the egg with us when we escaped the castle." Callum said.

"How many know the egg still lives?"

"Uh, me, Ez, Viren, you guys, and Claudia know. I'm gonna assume Soren, Claudia's brother knows about the egg, 'cuz they tell each other everything. I can't really think of anyone else who might know but we've only known about it for a day ourselves, so I don't really know."

Runaan left after that and Callum was left to his own devices. The ropes were strong, there was no chance of them getting out of there without outside assistance, so unless Rayla or one of the others went rogue, they wouldn't be getting out of there anytime soon. That left Runaan with plenty of time to think.

The information he had gotten out of Callum was troubling. There would be no chance of killing prince Ezran now, the castle would be in high alert and the future king would have the highest security possible. They could still do it but it would most likely cost them their lives and they couldn't afford to die without ensuring the survival of the Dragon Prince.

The prince needed to be returned to Xadia. There was no question about that. They would most likely lose their hands and in Runaan's case, his whole arm. But he had already spoken to the others about it and they had already agreed that it was worth it. They had all taken an instant liking to the egg and, in his opinion, how could you not? It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Things were mostly going in their way. They might lose their hands, but the Dragon prince's survival mostly made up for it. They would have a good excuse as to why they didn't kill prince Ezran and in the end, no children would be harmed.

*The two boys they had captured would be blinded and left there.* It might have been cruel but it was a step up from having to kill them. They wouldn't be able to say in which direction the Moonshadow elves were moving, so they wouldn't be followed easily. Callum and his brother would eventually be found, so there was no blood on his hands.

He got up from where he had been 'meditating' on a rock. Nightfall was approaching and he needed all the rest he could get. He had the graveyard watch after all.


	3. A series of unfortunate events

Sunset had fallen long ago. Runaan had disappeared into a tent and hadn't come out again. It wasn't much of a loss in Callum's mind. The elf was menacing. Terrifying. Absolutely scary at times. The list went on.

Callum on the other hand, had been subject to Ezran's growling stomach for hours now and knew it had to be a lot worse for the elves with their heightened hearing.

Ezran had woken up shortly after Runaan had left and Callum wasn't sure if he was relieved or not. Callum had given him his happiest smile and prayed he didn't realize how jagged and broken it was.

He wished his brother wasn't here, things would have been so much easier. Sure, he was thankful Ezran didn't have to find out Harrow was dead but it made it a lot harder for him to pretend that everything was still alright. At least he didn't have to stand there tied to a tree alone anymore.

Callum felt sure, not that the elves would ever admit it, that they forced dinner along just to get Ezran's stomach to quiet down. He would never be able to prove it, but still. At least they hadn't threatened them. Well, Runaan had threatened Callum but Ezran had still been unaware at the time, so it was alright.

Two elves came over with bowls of food and untied the ropes for their hands to move enough to eat but not enough to be able to escape, much to Callum's frustration. He hadn't thought it would be that easy to escape but still, would have been nice if it was. Not that it would help much. Even if they did escape their bindings, they would need a miracle to get past the pack of bloodthirsty assassins around them and Callum feared they were out of miracles.

They were each given a bowl of food and Ezran started to eat almost immediately but Callum hesitated. What if it was poisoned?

"We're not going to waste good poison on you." The elf standing in front of the tree said irritatedly.

Had he said that aloud? No, he was sure he hadn't, so how...

Oh no, what if elves could read minds?!

"You're face gave you away."

_'Oh.'_

Callum hesitated for a second more before he dug in. It was surprisingly good. The two elves watched them eat and if Callum wasn't so hungry, he might have felt intimidated. Well, he did feel intimidated, which is why he kept eating. It wouldn't do to make them angry. He remembered the time his mom had cooked dinner. It had been terrible but no one had the heart to tell her. Not until harrow had taken another bite and gagged. She had refused to talk to him for almost two weeks.

The assassins were dangerous (as dangerous as their mother when angry was debatable) and any wrong move could spell their doom. He had to be cautious of how he reacted. It was best to avoid eye contact and not attract attention.

Ezran didn't seem to agree. He had started a conversation and had somehow managed to charm them out of their tense demeanor. Callum would admit he wasn't expecting it. Ezran had charmed many with his adorable looks and cute personality but this was a whole different league on its own. He had to say though, what he found out was interesting.

The woman (womelf? Welf?) talking to Ezran introduced herself as Kashima and the other elf was Ram. As it turns out, she was the older of two female assassins in the camp, the other being Rayla. Rayla had hesitated to kill and that had caused them to be revealed. She had been put on suspension until further notice.

The elf in charge of cooking was Callisto and Runaan was their leader, not that he didn't already know what Runaan's position was. The elf practically screamed authority.

Callum had no idea how Ezran managed to charm people as he does but he was grateful for it. The information he got out of them could prove to be useful later on if they survived but that had also been settled. Apparently, the elves were just going to leave them here. It was great news! Once the elves were gone, they could work on a plan to get out of there. At least he hoped so.

Kashima had seemed honest when she had said they weren't going to kill them but something was off when she said it. She seemed guilty. Then again, that could just be Callum's natural suspicion towards them.

His brother's charm was going to make him a wonderful king someday, he just wished it wouldn't be as soon as he feared.

The line of succession after Harrow's death would fall to Ezran, then Callum, Viren and finally, it would fall to aunt Amaya to lead the people.

If Ezran did refuse to take the throne, then aunt Amaya would most likely become regent Queen until he was ready. Viren would be out of the picture for treason and there was no way Callum could ever take the throne. He would have been a terrible king. All there was left was aunt Amaya. She would be a strong queen.

Maybe Ezran would never have to become king and could keep his innocence. He wouldn't have to learn what a cruel world he lived in. He would spend the rest of his days pretending he could talk to butterflies. Maybe he would find a nice girl who would love him for his kind personality. They would have lots of little kids who would run around laughing. Then someday he would die of old age, smiling at the family who loved him. Children and grandchildren and maybe even great-grandchildren would stand around his bed and mourn him. Then he would go to the great place in the sky where mom and dad would meet him and he could finally-

He realized suddenly that he had a bigger problem than Ezran's future. If they ever made it out of here, he would have to break it to Ezran that Harrow was...gone. He would have to do it before they returned, before someone else slipped up and shattered his brother. But he had hardly accepted it himself, how could he tell Ezran?

The two elves soon left with their bowls and the two human princes were left alone again.

**Three hours later:**

Kashima came over just as Callum was starting to doze off. Ezran had already fallen asleep, the day's events taking a toll on him. She placed a blanket over Ezran and tenderly tucked the blankets around him, mindful of the rope that bound him. She did the same for Callum, albeit not as carefully as she had with Ezran.

"The night will be cold."

Callum had a feeling that she didn't like him much.

"Thank you."

She nodded and walked off.

_'Wow Ez, elven assassins. Bit of a step up from innocent servants.'_ He couldn't help but think to himself quietly.

"Rayla," Callisto called.

It was nearing morning. Runaan's shift had come and gone and now it was Callisto's watch. There was only an hour or so before the sun would rise and they would head home to Xadia with the egg. There were some elves who dreaded the first light, as it would mean maiming two innocent children who were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Rayla looked down from where she had sat near the fire. She had woken up early from night terrors, terrible things involving water that she didn't want to get into. She had been far too unsettled to go back to sleep and had decided to keep Callisto company.

"Yeah?"

"Our supply of drinking water is running dangerously low." He said over the crackle of the fire.

"I could swear that we had more than enough." Rayla grumped.

Just her luck. Maybe she could weasel her way out of this?

"That's what I thought too. Strange. Anyway, there's a river to the east of here. Go."

"Right." She sighed.

Rayla grabbed the team's water containers and was soon deep in the forest when an unnerving feeling of being watched hit her. She continued on to the river but kept an ear out for trouble.

She arrived at the river and quickly refilled their supply. The unnerving feeling of being watched hadn't abated.

It was as Rayla bent over to fill the last bottle when she felt a sudden shift in the air. She dropped the bottle, the water spilling out and pulled her blades just in time to block the incoming sword. She slashed at her opponent and heard as he fell to the ground beside her.

Three human soldiers were closing in on her, their swords raised and ready to strike. They attacked and Rayla blocked one sword and flipped out of the path of another. She fainted an attack to the third's chest before slashing at his unprotected legs. Two down, two to go. The fight wouldn't last long, her elven reflexes and advanced training giving her an advantage over the humans who were foolish enough to attack her.

They should have known. If the assumption that the two boys were nobility was correct, they should have expected this to happen. The two boys were likely reported missing and the guards had done as they saw fit. They were likely swarming the forest in search of them.

_"Where there's one human, there is a whole infestation of them."_ Runaan had once said. _"They're like cockroaches."_

She had learned a lot from Runaan but the moral of the story had always stayed the same: Humans are short lived and annoying.

Rayla flipped into a crouch in the middle of camp and Callisto stood up in alarm. The sun would rise in a few minutes and the others had already started getting up. Runaan sat by the fire eating a Xadian orange. His gaze flitted over her briefly before his eyes zeroed in on the cut on her cheek.

"What happened?" He asked before Callisto even had a chance to open his mouth. Callisto shot him an annoyed look.

"Humans."

That was all that needed to be said. The look on Callisto's face was replaced by alarm. Runaan cursed.

"Where?"

"To the east, by the river."

He turned to Callisto. "Wake the others, we're leaving."

Runaan stalked over to the two boys they had captured. Callum had woken up from all the shouting but Ezran still slept soundly. He hadn't always been such a light sleeper but any small sound had startled him awake recently. It was odd but useful. Ezran's head was slightly tilted forward and Callum knew he would wake up with a creek in his neck.

Runaan gripped Callum harshly by his chin and glared at him.

"Who knows about our location? Who do you work for?" He hissed.

"What? I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Callum stuttered.

"Don't lie to me human! You know exactly what I'm talking about." His grip tightened and Callum grimaced.

"I don't, I swear! Please!"

Runaan looked into his eyes, frightened and confused, the eyes of a child who was about Rayla's age. He let go as if burned and stormed away, feeling Callum's mystified eyes following him.

Callum, meanwhile, was left extremely confused at that little encounter. It was probably the second most terrifying encounter he had had in the last week and it wasn't even Thursday yet! It could probably be considered one of the most terrifying moments of his life, right next to that time Viren had yelled at him because he had accidentally knocked over some rare ingredient.

Not that the time Ezran twisted his ankle whilst playing in the courtyard when they were younger hadn't been terrifying too, but as he grew older he realized there were so many more threats than that to worry about. Like crazy Moonshadow elf assassins.

He really hoped that the stories about elves being crazy were just that but after that, he wasn't quite as convinced as he had been previously. Sure, he knew that they were dangerous but being insane was a whole new pile to deal with.

_'Maybe it's just an elf thing.'_ Callum mussed.

"Callum." Ezran stirred and Callum snapped to attention.

"Yeah, Ez?"

"Callum, what's happening?"

"I...have no idea."

Runaan was lost in thought, packing away supplies when he heard rustling coming from a nearby bush. He lowered his handful of supplies and, sharing a glance with the others, pulled his swords and slowly approached.

A deer walked out, its small head looking up at him and Runaan lowered his weapons slightly. He smiled at it and reached out a hand to pet it when a sudden force hit him in the shoulder. Alarmed shouts came from his teammates as soldiers burst from the trees. He stumbled back and pulled out the arrow from where it had nestled itself in between his shoulder plates. That would be sure to leave a bruise later. Thank the primals for elven armor.

The rest had already pulled their weapons by the time Runaan had managed to reorient himself, something Callisto was never going to let him live down.

They were surrounded and if he had to admit it, outnumbered. For every member in his squad, there were at least ten of them. Neither attacked as the two sides glared at each other. Two teenagers on horseback came forward, arguing with each other and not paying attention to their surroundings.

"Why would you order Marcos to shoot them? We're trying to negotiate and avoid as much bloodshed as possible Soren!" The dark haired girl said.

"I'm sorry, Claudia! Marcos deserved to do it anyway, they did try to kill him if you don't remember."

"He survived!"

"Ahem." A soldier close to them interrupted.

They snapped to attention.

"Right," Claudia said, turning her attention to Runaan.

"Hi!" She exclaimed. "Yeah, we just came to make a deal. No need to attack."

"Oh?" Runaan asked sarcastically.

"Yeah. It's really simple and no one has to get hurt."

"And what is it you want?" Runaan asked tensely.

Claudia opened her mouth to reply when Soren beat her to it. "Give us the egg and we might let you live long enough to go back to the dark hole you came from."

"Soren!" Claudia exclaimed at his lack of tact.

"What?"

Claudia sighed. "You could have said that a little better, don't you think?"

"Not really."

"We're not giving you the egg!" Rayla spat and Runaan wasn't sure if he was proud or not.

"Yes, you are! And the two princes too!" Soren exclaimed.

"What? We don't have any princes! W-" Runaan shot her a look and she immediately shut up.

"Yes, you do! I'm looking at Callum and Ezran right now!" Soren really had no tack when it came to these things.

Runaan glanced at the two tied up boys then back at his team. He knew the humans wouldn't stay true to their word, they never did, and would attack them as soon as they had what they wanted. They couldn't give them the egg either, for many reasons, morality and ethics being the least of them. They were still outnumbered, though. Runaan sighed and motioned for Callisto and Kashima to untie the two boys.

They hesitate for a moment before doing as ordered.

"Wait, we're just going to do as told? Runaan, this is madness!" Rayla exclaimed.

He gave her a severe look and she quieted, a look of betrayal on her face. She turned away from him

Callum and Ezran were just as confused as the rest of them. Would they truly give in this easily?

"Wow. This was waaaay easier than I thought it would be." Soren said.

They were led forward with the two assassins behind them, Bait held in Ezran's arms. Suddenly, Runaan grabbed them and held his swords to their necks.

"I don't think so. Leave us or the princelings die."

Claudia shot Soren a look. "You just had to open your big mouth, didn't you?"

Callum felt the sharp edge of Runaan's sword and couldn't help imagining his body lying on the forest floor, eyes open and the ground stained red. Would the end come slowly and painfully or would it be over before it ever started, a sharp pain and sudden darkness? Or would it be somewhere in the middle? Would his life flash before his eyes? If it did, what would he see?

Would he see his mother, kind and caring? Her warm hands tucking him into bed. Her mischievous eyes as she pranked Viren. Her strong will as she fought for what she believed in. Her lifeless eyes.

Would he see Harrow? Strong king Harrow who always put his people before himself, who always wanted to help, whose heart was too big for his chest. Harrow, who would build snowmen with Ezran and him.

Ezran! Images flashed through his mind; Ezran on the forest floor, eyes dull and lifeless, Ezran laughing, Ezran crying, Ezran ripped to pieces by Viren's black magic.

Callum couldn't breathe. He looked pleadingly at Soren and Claudia. He didn't care how much they would tease him if they got out of this alive, or if he died, just a corpse on the forest floor, a memory to be forgotten...

'Stop it! Ezran needs you to be in the game right now.' He thought.

"Drop the royal brat and the dweeb. You're outnumbered. We won't hesitate to take you all out if you hurt them." Soren said threateningly.

Callum felt as Runaan's grasp on his swords tightened. Oh dear. "Not helping Soren!"

"What would you have me do prince dweeb?" Soren never took his eyes off Runaan.

"Just back off a bit." He gritted out.

Soren shared a hesitant look with Claudia. This could end very badly for everyone involved if this went wrong. The two princes could end up dead and half of the guard as well.

The plan had gone wrong. It had been rather simple too. Kill the elves after they had handed over the princes, take the princes back to their dad and celebrate. Easy-peasy. Until things had gone wrong.

The princes were never supposed to be in danger.

"Soldiers, stand down and retreat."

Everyone could die, but they didn't have any other plan.

The soldiers hesitantly backed off, not lowering their weapons. What now? They were still at a stalemate, they were just backed off a few steps.

Callum's eyes hesitantly flitted around him. The elves were tense, as were the human soldiers. They were waiting for when someone slipped up and started the battle, neither willing to admit they started it. Some were waiting to see if the two princes made it out alive.

What they needed was an icebreaker, a distraction, so he and Ezran could escape. And like a candle being lighted in a dark room, he had an idea. A stupid idea that would most likely get him killed. They needed a distraction and he would gladly provide. Even if that idea scared him half to death. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea. After all, even if Runaan was affected by it, there was still the other assassin to take into account.

He glanced at the assembled battalion. Then again, they would die anyway if things kept progressing as they were.

"Uh. Okay," He gave a nervous chuckle. "Well... PURPLEPEACOKSARENOTOFTHELIVINGFORTHEYAREEVIL!"

"...what?" But by then Callum had already started his master plan that could very possibly fail spectacularly. The plan was as followed.

Step 1: Distract the enemy.

Which worked a little too well. Everyone, even the soldiers of Katolis were confused. Ezran looked at him strangely. However, it had the desired effect and Runaan's swords loosened slightly.

Step 2: Get Runaan To Let Them Go.

This involved a very stupid move that involved Callum stomping on Runaan's foot then elbowing him in the ribs...

Thankfully for Callum, and very unfortunately for Runaan, he had managed to somehow miss and accidentally hit him in the unmentionables. Poor Runaan. Nearly dropped his swords as it were.

He might have been strong and could endure many forms of pain, but there were just somethings nobody could prepare for.

Step 3: Run as far away from the pissed off elf as possible.

The whole plan, which included shouting nonsense, accidentally hitting a trained assassin in the junk and running away, had successfully been enacted in less than a minute. Thankfully neither Runaan nor the other assassins came after them because as soon as they saw their moment, the soldiers attacked and soon, swords clanged throughout the forest.

Callum ignored it all, dragging Ezran with a squirming Bait in his arms away from the battle. He grabbed their packs on the way out. They wouldn't get very far without supplies after all. As they were making their way across the clearing, Callum spotted a glow coming from inside one of the tents. Unfortunately, so did Ezran.

"Callum! The egg."

"Ez, we can't take it with us." Callum reminded him and tried to tug him away.

"Please Callum, we can't leave it here. It'll be destroyed." He pled.

Callum hesitated, weighing the pros and cons. Would it be a good idea to leave it here? The assassins would be able to get it to Xadia but from the looks of things, it didn't look like they would survive the fight. They were great fighters but they were heavily outnumbered. It might not be safe to leave it when a battle was raging around them.

On the other hand, they didn't need the extra weight dragging them down. Plus, on the off chance they managed to come out of the fight unharmed, unlikely as it were, they would come after them to reclaim the egg and most likely kill them too.

There were no benefits to taking with them, just unnecessary risks, he decided and turned to flee when a soldier landed on the tent closest to the egg.

"..."

He grabbed the egg and ran. Screw the facts, it was going to be destroyed in the battle if someone didn't do something. Why were they so careless? You'd think that both sides wanting the egg would make them just a little more careful! But nooo, they just have to destroy everything.

The egg was placed in his pack, which was slightly lighter without the added weight of the primal stone but it wasn't exactly a good thing. They were alone, defenseless and would starve unless they managed to get to the Banther Lodge in time.

As they fled deeper into the woods, the sounds of ringing metal faded into nothing behind them. Trees and bushes passed by yet Callum continued on, never stopping.

Once he had deemed them far enough, Callum had allowed them a quick ten-minute break before he started up a quick pace once more.

He did everything in his power to cover their tracks. He made them walk in the river for half an hour, swept their tracks away, even went so far as to avoid breaking branches and twigs, getting rid of those they did break.

It was all for naught, however, as they were found several hours later. The sun had long since fallen to the inky stars above. Callum and Ezran made camp, but no fire was lit, it would have attracted too much attention. Luckily, the night wasn't very cold and they slept soundly.

It was the sound of horse feet that woke Callum up. He moved to Ezran and woke him only for horses to burst out of the trees and surround them. Callum couldn't help a stab of panic at the claustrophobia they made him feel even if the company was as pleasant as they come.

"Seriously, step-prince? You really need to work on your escape plans next time." Soren commented from atop his horse.

"It worked, didn't it? I didn't see you do anything useful." Callum said.

"Hey, I was trying to make sure you lived to see another sunrise."

Callum rolled his eyes from where he was helping Ezran up onto Soren's horse. Ezran was to ride with Soren because he was the lighter of the two and with Soren's horse already being burdened with his heavy armor it had been decided.

Callum couldn't really complain. He got to ride with Claudia which was a plus in any book, even if the dark magic she so heavily smelled of was giving him flashbacks.

"How did you find us? I thought I covered our tracks pretty well." Callum asked.

"If you think you actually pushed us off the scent, you still got a lot to learn."

'Plus, Claudia did a spell." Soren thought but he would never admit it. They had actually done a pretty decent job, if not for the fact that it was too perfect. The route they had taken was teeming with deer, yet not a single print had been left.

"Well, we made it this far, didn't we?" Callum said irritatedly.

The day had been long and stressful. He really wasn't in the mood for Soren's teasing. All he wanted was a warm bath, a warm meal and to go straight to bed. He couldn't have the first in his current situation but he was determined to have the latter.

"Yeah, cause you got lucky." He said as Callum climbed in behind Claudia.

Callum didn't respond, instead, he buried his face in Claudia's shoulder and let the rhythmic galloping of horse hooves on stern earth lull him to sleep. The smell of Claudia's hair followed him to his dreams.

They started sweet enough. King Harrow, Sarai, him and Ezran having a picnic in a field of flowers; him and Ezran playing hide-and-seek; King Harrow, Aunt Amaya and the two of them playing in the snow, building snowmen; Gren and Aunt Amaya taking them to the orchids so Callum could sketch the butterflies and Ezran could explore. But then things changed.

Harrow scolding them for getting into trouble; the time Ezran broke his ankle from tripping on the stairs; every nasty and demeaning word the servants whispered to each other when they thought he couldn't hear and sometimes when they knew he could.

The whisperings followed him through bloody halls filled with corpses. The halls were closing in on him and he couldn't breathe. Things were spinning and the walls cracked and he couldn't do anything. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't scream his terror and fear into the cold.

The faces accused him and he .cried until nothing made sense anymore.

**WEAKLING**

**STEP-PRINCE**

**BASTARD **

**USELESS**

**UNFIT**

**''AT LEAST THE FUTURE KING ISN'T AS USELESS.''**

**WORTHLESS**

'_MAKE IT STOP!'_

And it did. He recognized it as his parent's bedroom. The hearth was lit and the room was flooded with warmth. He felt safe and comfortable for the first time in days.

"Callum."

He turned and stared at his step-father, unharmed and well. It was as if the previous days had never happened, just a bad dream.

"You're okay." Callum couldn't help it as his voice cracked.

"Of course, I am." Harrow said with a smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Callum hugged him and couldn't stop the smile that bloomed. Things were going to be okay. He felt as arms wrapped around him and he felt safe. Everything was going to be okay.

Things were going to work out. If you couldn't trust family, then who could you trust? All he needed to do was breath. Calm down and look at the bigger picture. He took a deep breath and calmed down. Everything was going to be fine.

But then the arms tightened painfully and he looked up into Viren's black eyes. His face was pale from rage and his voice boomed throughout the room. He stumbled back, his foot missing the step and fell on his back.

"You impudent little mongrel! How dare you?"

Callum wasn't sure what he was being accused of but he knew this wasn't going to end well. Pain overtook him, he was on fire but there were no flames. He was bleeding yet there were no wounds. His back and shoulder burned. The room was on fire, smoke hanging in the air and suffocating him.

"You are a failure!" Viren spat.

What he wouldn't give to be able to go back to how things were previously. The stinging words were something he was accustomed to at least but this pain, it felt like he was being destroyed from the inside.

He heard screaming and voices. He didn't know where they came from. It was like there was a bubble around him that blocked all sound. Well, he amended, not the screaming, that was bitter clear, like crystal shattering. They were his, he realized detachedly.

He was the one screaming. But why? Everything felt so foggy.

But where were the voices coming from?

Is cereal soup?

There came a sudden light and he took a deep breath, the first he had taken in what felt like an eternity.

"Callum, wake up!" Ezran begged him.

Groaning, he sat up. He on the cold ground, bushes and trees around him. The noises of the night made themselves quietly known.

"What happened?" Last he remembered, they were riding towards the camp.

"You fell asleep and almost fell off the horse. Thank goodness Claudia caught you before you broke your head open." Soren said matter of factly.

"Oh..."

"What were you dreaming of? You didn't sound too happy." Claudia asked.

"Nothing." He answered, feeling awkward.

"Are you sure-"

"Yeah, Claudia, I'm sure. Just had a stressful day."

She looked as if she wanted to press but Soren interrupted her. He had his moments.

"Well, if you're okay then I guess we should keep going then. I don't like the idea of being away from camp any longer. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can sleep." He said stretching.

After carefully making sure Callum was alright, they got back on their horses and made for camp. Callum had slept throughout the ride the first time, but this time he stayed wide awake.

It wouldn't do to be weak after all.


	4. A very Callum day to you

By the time they had reached camp, the sun had already risen and most of the soldiers were up. The sky was painted in pinks and purples. It was going to be a lovely day.

As Callum got off the horse, his sore legs wobbling slightly, he cast a quick glance over the camp.

The clearing where they had once been held captive was far behind them, instead the soldiers had set up camp in a glade a few miles away. The glade was home to other soldiers who were camped out there, on their way to the breach. The soldiers were laughing, sharing stories and packing up supplies. Tents were spread over the area, fires long since extinguished.

"I'm dead tired. Why did we ride through the night again?" Soren yawned.

"Because we need to get the princes back to the safety of the castle as quickly as possible, not to mention that we have dangerous captives who we need to deliver for punishment." Claudia reminded him.

"Right..." Soren headed for his tent. "Well, I'm going to bed. We'll depart for Katolis castle tomorrow."

She turned to head to her own tent when Callum stopped her.

"Hey Claudia, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for stealing your primal ball thingy. I was worried you'd miss and hit Ezran and I kind of panicked." He apologized.

"Hey, its okay! You did what you thought was best for Ez and in the end I got it back. Just don't do it again ,okay?"

"Promise." Callum smiled. "So, what's going to happened to the elves?"

"I don't know. Its up to the council to decide what happens to them but I assure you they won't get away with what they did. They won't be able to hurt anyone ever again."

"Yeah, but they'll be alright in the end, right? I know they kidnapped us but its not like they'll be sentenced to death right?" Callum asked nervously.

He didn't like them. In fact he wanted them as far away from them as possible but he also didn't want war.

Claudia gave him a look. "You don't know?"

"Don't know what?" He asked defensively.

"Oh, Callum..."

"What don't I know Claudia?" he gritted out.

"Callum, they killed the king." Callum felt his blood run cold.

"No." He turned away from her.

"I know it must be a shock but I promise you, they won't get away with it." She put a hand on his shoulder and Callum gave a bitter laugh.

"The elves didn't kill Harrow, Claudia. Viren did." He hissed.

She took a step back. "My father would never do that."

"Oh, then why did he, Claudia? Why did I watch him kill my-" He took a deep shuddering breath. "Why did I watch him murder the king?"

"Callum. I don't know what those filthy elves told you but my dad would never do that. My dad loved king Harrow. They were best friends. He was shattered when king Harrow was declared dead."

_'Oh, I bet he was.'_ Callum thought darkly.

"Claudia-"

Claudia interrupted him. "Callum, I swear to you, the elves lied and for that, they deserve to suffer but my dad would never hurt you or king Harrow."

He sighed. "I'm sorry Claudia, I shouldn't have believed- I shouldn't have."

"It's okay Callum. I'm going to go get some sleep, you should do the same."

She turned to leave once more but Callum stopped her. He hesitated.

"Don't tell Ezran about Harrow. I-It should come from me." He said.

She nodded, a sympathetic look on her face. "Of course."

Callum watched as she climbed into her tent. He felt guilty for lying to her but it was necessary. She hadn't believed him. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. Somehow Viren had fooled everyone and placed the blame on the elves. He knew the elves hadn't had a single thing to do with King Harrow's death, the throbbing pain in his shoulder and back a constant reminder of his failures.

_'I should really get that looked at.'_ he thought. But first he needed to talk to Ezran.

They couldn't stay. They couldn't go back to the castle, not with Viren there. It would be suicide. They had to get out of there. They're only chance was with their aunt Amaya. She would be able to protect them. She had never liked Viren, she would believe them when they told her the truth. She could sort things out, could explain that Lord Viren wasn't as innocent as he pretended.

He walked across the clearing to the tent in which Ezran slept. He had fallen asleep during the journey, only half-lucid as he had been carried into a tent by one of the soldiers.

Ezran had been sleeping much more than usual, considering that Callum usually had to wrestle Ezran to go to sleep but Callum couldn't blame him. Their journey had been taxing on both of them. They just weren't use to walking all day, sleeping on the hard ground and eating small rations of food.

He slipped into the tent and gently shook Ezran.

"Ezran, wake up!" He whispered.

Ezran mumbled and turned on his side, Bait clutched in his arms. Callum sighed.

"Come on bud. I know you're tired but you need to wake up."

"Ugh, Callum, I'm tired." Ezran mumbled.

"I know Ez, but you need to wake up, just for a short while, then you can go back to sleep." Callum said.

Ezran sleepily sat up. At least he was paying attention.

"We can't trust Claudia and Soren."

"What?" That seemed to wake him up.

"Viren blamed the elves for King Harrow's death. He's still at the castle, you know, the place they're taking us. We can't stay." Callum explained in a hushed voice.

"But where are we going to go?"

"We'll go to aunt Amaya, she can protect us." He said. "We'll stop off at the Banther lodge then we'll head for the Breach."

"Okay but how are we going to get out of camp? There are guards everywhere. They aren't just going to let us sneak out of camp." Ezran pointed out.

"Don't worry, all you need to do is make sure you and Bait are ready to leave. I'll handle the rest."

He wandered the camp in search of a plan. Just going to aunt Amaya was a good plan but he didn't know how he was going to get the needed supplies.

"Morning prince Callum!" One of the soldiers called out.

Callum turned to them, surprise written over his face. People usually forgot he existed.

"Uh, Hi." He gave a half wave.

_'I probably look stupid.'_ He thought.

"You okay? You look a little pale. Come sit. Breakfast in almost ready."

Right then, Callum's stomach gave an unhappy grumble, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in hours. He blushed and hesitantly walked to the circle of soldiers who had made a place for him on am old tree that had fallen.

The soldiers were on the older side, veterans who had seen battle and lived. Most were in their mid forties or early fifties with a sprinkle of younger soldiers who eagerly sat and listen as they told stories.

Callum' sat next to Jack, one of the older veterans. He had a friendly smile on his face and a beard that was starting to go from steal grey to an off white.

A bowl of food was placed in his hands. Callum stared at it as if it was a foreign entity.

"It's not as bad as it looks. A little bland but it does the trick." Jack said with a smile.

Callum jerked back to reality and started devouring it.

Discounting the food the elves gave them, it was the first real meal he had had in almost a week. Callum felt like he was going to cry. He didn't know why.

"Slow down before you choke."

Callum blushed before he started eating slower, savoring every bite.

Sure, it had nothing on castle food but it was still great.

"So what's your story?" One of the soldiers across from him asked.

Callum stopped eating to look up. He stayed quiet, confusion marring his face.

"Leave him alone." One of the others said.

"Don't mind them." Jack whispered.

Callum nodded and started eating again.

"What were the elves like? Do they really drink blood? Do they have pointy teeth?" One of the younger soldiers, a private asked.

Callum swallowed.

"They don't have pointy teeth and I doubt they drink blood." Callum said. "They're kind of like us, except they have horns and only four fingers and are a lot faster... and quieter."

"Oh."

The other's laughed.

Jack patted him on the shoulder and the rest of what he was about the say floated away. He grimaced as pain lanced through him.

"-allum? Prince Callum are you alright? Callum!"

"Huh?" He looked at Jack's worried face.

"Are you alright?"

"'m fine." He slurred.

"Come on, let's get you to the medical tent."

"That's really not necessary." He protested.

Callum didn't believe the wounds that the shadow wolves had inflicted were anything to worry about, assuming that they would heal in time. However, with how events had been playing out, they hadn't had much chance to heal.

"I disagree."

But by then they were already halfway across camp and nearing the green medical tent. Jack was half carrying him, half dragging him along. It didn't help that the man had a good six feet on him.

"Hey, McFarland! I need you." Jack called out.

The inside of the tent was the same color as the outside, a light emerald green. There were tables spread throughout the tent, upon which jars of salves, bottles of medicine and tools used for operation stood. On one of the cots an injured soldier slept, bandages covering his chest. He was a blond man who looked about aunt Amaya's age and his breathing was ragged. Callum thought he saw him looking at him but dismissed it as his imagination playing tricks on him.

The medic himself was a dark skinned man with short graying hair in a medical tunic. His face was wrinkled from age and what Callum guessed was years of stress bearing down on him.

"What do you need?" He asked as he cleaned his bloodied hands on a cloth.

"Something's wrong with the kid. Think he got hurt. Mind taking a look?"

The medic sighed. "Sure. Hop on the table kid."

Callum had never liked visits to the doctor and he liked this even less. One wrong word and everything could go wrong. He needed to be cautious.

"I really don't think this is necessary." Callum protested.

"You sound just like Jack. Always trying to weasel his way out of treatment."

"That's because I don't need to be swaddled in bandages like a mummy when I know I'm fine."

"So, what happened?"

His mothers words came back to haunt him. She hadn't meant them in the way he was now choosing to interpret them but beggars can't be choosers.

"I tripped and fell. Nothing too bad, just a few cuts and bruises. They just burn a bit-"

_A younger Callum sat on the bed drawing as his mother told him the story of the liar and the knight. He was still inexperienced but what made up for it in enthusiasm._

_"Then when the young maiden said she loved him, the golden chalice did not disagree, fore she told the truth. They were married a few years later, after they got to know each other properly. They would go through many strive in the years to come, but they stood by each other through it all and lived happily ever after. The end."_

_"Is that how you knew that the adviser was lying, mommy?" He had asked._

_"No Callum, Though it would be very useful, I don't have a magical object that tells me when someone is lying. Sometimes people who lie give themselves away by acting funny." She had said as she combed a hand through his hair._

_"That's a very nice lion." She said._

_Callum frowned up at her. "It's a horse."_

_"I knew that, I was just teasing." She laughed._

_"Your lying mommy." _

_She sighed, a fond smile on her face. "Your too clever for me." _

_She pulled a stray curl behind his ear. "Remember Callum, every lie is built on a speck of truth."_

She hadn't meant them in the way he was now choosing to interpret them but beggars can't be choosers."Burn?" The medic was suddenly alert. If the wound felt burning, it was past time to change the dressing. It could also signal that the wound might be infected, which could lead to serious problems in the long run.

If one of the princes fell ill now, after all the effort and lives lost to bring them back... It wasn't a good thought.

"Is there any increased swelling, tenderness, or pain around the cuts?" he asked.

"Uh, not more than usual. Why?"

"Take off you shirt please."

"Uh, I don't think-" Callum objected. It would be hard to explain why he had burn marks the shape of a wolf bite on his shoulders and it certainly would be harder to explain the claw marks.

"Shirt off. Now. I need to make sure there isn't any infection."

"Listen to the doc, he knows what he's doing." Jack said.

Jack over strained to contain his laughter as the doctor wrestled with Callum to get his shirt off. He stopped laughing when Callum's shirt came off.

The medic let out a gasp as he stared at the wound that was most certainly not 'harmless'.

"This is most certainly not a scratch. I'd say you were mauled by a wild animal if it weren't for the dark magic in and around the wounds."

The look he gave him made Callum cringe but before he could come up with a lie to explain it away, the doctor interrupted him.

"Don't lie to me. What really happened? Because there's no way you got this from a fall."

Callum took a deep breath. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

"Try me. You don't get to be my age and not see some impossible things."

"Uh, well, the truth is..." Callum hesitated. " The king wasn't assassinated by the elves."

"What are you implying?"

"What I mean, is that the high mage is an evil bastard that deserves to die a slow agonizing death." Callum spat.

"...What?"

"I was there when he killed the king. He got rid of all the witnesses but one."

"I'd say you were lying but I've met Viren once or twice and the dark magic in the wounds are an almost identical match."

"Lord Viren has always been a snake in the Katolian grass but to go this far..." Jack murmured

"This is grave news."

Callum stayed quiet. The doctor seemed to understand his reluctance to continue and dropped the topic.

"The damage to your shoulder isn't too bad. The wounds you sustained miraculously aren't infected and the bite doesn't travel too deeply. It needs cleaning if it's gonna stay uninfected and it needs to be wrapped, but other than that, it'll heal on its own time. The claw wounds on your back,however, are going to need stitches." He said as he started cleaning the area around Callum's shoulder.

"Stitches!" He stuttered. "Are-are you really sure I need stitches? It doesn't even hurt that much!" He said unconvincingly.

The doctor gave him a dry look.

"Son, if you don't get stitches, it's only going to get worse. It's not going to heal correctly and you don't want that, do you?"

Callum chewed on his bottom lip. It would be painful and there was a large chance it was going to leave a scar behind. Callum didn't like pain. Callum had never liked pain, had hated when he had broken his arm when he had tripped on the stairs. Plus, as little as he would like to admit it, he was scared.

The doctor seemed to understand as he started to rummage in his medical bag and took out a vile of green stuff.

"Don't worry, I'll be applying pain killers around the area of the wound. You won't feel a thing."

"Promise?" Callum felt like a child again, asking his mother if she was going to come back. She broke her promise only once.

"Promise." The doctor said solemnly,amusement dancing in his eyes.

Callum was made to lie down on his stomach as the doctor McFarland applied the green stuff (an anesthetic made from the bark from some tree originating from Xadia) to his aching back.

McFarland had already cleaned the four slash marks before he applied the anesthetic. Callum hardly felt it as the needle the doctor wielded as a sword pierced his skin with stitches. The agonized wait was terrible however.

"All done."

"What? Already?" Callum sat up and was about to get off the cot he was sitting on but the doctor kept him down and for a second Callum panicked. His muscles tensed and he was about to start flailing before Jack soothed his worries.

"Not yet. He still needs to tend to your shoulder."

Slowly the doctor repeated the process of cleaning the bite in his shoulder. Callum hoped he would hurry up. He had things he needed to do. Ezran was counting on him. Their lives were on the line.

This was only suppose to be a quick stop, then he was to go collect what they needed, wake Ezran and go. Instead, he had been stuck there for almost an hour and a half. How could things get any worse?

"Wow. What happened to you?"

_'Oh no.'_

"Soren, what are you doing here?" Callum asked as Soren closed the tent flap behind him.

"I came to check up on you, make sure you weren't kidnapped again." He said distractedly as he neared.

"Moonshadows really did a number on you. That looks really painful." He continued.

"Don't worry. His wounds should heal within a few months. He'll be left with some interesting scars but he'll be fine. " Doctor McFarland said as he finished wrapping bandages over Callum's shoulder.

"Remember boy, you need to change your bandages three to four times a day, so they don't get infected." He said. "I'll give you some extra for the road, as well as some other things you'll need."

He turned away and begun scavenging through his supplies.

"That really won't be necessary,doctor. We have all the medical supplies we need and the trip back to the castle won't take more than a day or two." Soren budged in.

"Captain, The prince has been gravely injured. His wounds, if not treated correctly, could lead to infection that could hamper him severely in the future. I would feel most comfortable if I give him the needed supplies to take care of himself correctly. The medical supplies currently at your disposal is for the troupes and are not sufficient to treat prince Callum." Doctor McFarland admonished.

"Uh..." Poor Soren was very confused. Too many big words.

"As for now, I ask that you leave. Prince Callum will be out shortly. I just need to take care of a few more things and you are disturbing my sleeping patient." The medic shoo-ed the Captain of the Crown guard out of the tent as if he was a mere child who wanted to partake in the matters of grown-ups.

Once he deemed the captain far away enough, he turned back to Callum.

"Here." He said as he handed Callum a sak. "There should be enough supplies to sustain you and the young prince on your journey."

Callum looked at the supplies in surprise. There were bandages, a tin of salve, some thread and needles for stitching up wounds, and Scissors.

"The castle isn't so far as to need all these supplies." He said without thinking.

"But you're not going to the castle, are you?" The old medic pointed out.

"Uh..."

"The salve helps for dark magic wounds. Now, don't forget-"

"Change the bandages twice a day?"

"No! Three to four times. Now off you go. I have other patients to attend to."

As they walked out of the tent, Jack grasped Callum by his uninjured shoulder.

"Don't worry about supplies. I'll bring them to you later. You should leave around midnight. I'll make sure things run as smoothly as possible."

"Are you sure?"

"You're a good kid, Callum. Stay safe." He said.

Callum nodded before he swiftly left and made his way through camp. They would make their escape during the cover of darkness. It would give him a chance to get some shut eye,at least. That is,if nightmares didn't come to haunt him like they did every night since king Harrow died. He didn't feel very hopeful.


	5. Escape and Rescue (Part 1)

"Ezran."

"mmdowahnagetuf."

"Ezran, wake up. It's time to go." Callum whispered.

Callum had been up for a few minutes now, getting the last minute details ready. Captain Jack had indeed come through with the food and other supplies needed, as well as the guards' rotating schedule. He did warn not to go near the East side of the camp.

So that was exactly where they were going. Callum liked Jack. The man was kind and seemed to be on their side but Callum wasn't stupid. It could all be a ruse to lull them into a false sense of security. No matter how sincere he might seem, Callum couldn't bring himself to trust him. He had been fooled by Viren, a man who had always been seen as an uncle to him, a man who had come to all his birthdays, a man who had always stood by King Harrow, even when things became hard.

Callum had always suspected that Viren had loved King Harrow but how could that be true? How could a murderer love their victim?

No, Callum couldn't trust anyone but himself and Ezran...and aunt Amaya, of course.

"I don't wanna get up. Tired."

"Ez, you slept over half the day away. You're not tired. Now get up." Callum said annoyedly.

He loved his brother, he really did. He wouldn't have the courage to do half the stupid things he did if he didn't love his brother to pieces. But Ezran was still a little kid and little kids have a bad habit of trying to stay asleep when you try to wake them.

You just need to wake them. Sure, they are grumpy at first but once they managed to wake up just a little more, they were so full of energy, it's like they just ate a bowl of sugar.

Callum couldn't fault Ezran for being tired. Despite what you might think, they had had a rough couple of days.

Callum hadn't been happy to leave his home and neither had Ezran. It was scary. Being forced to leave your home so suddenly, coupled with the worry and anxiety that the last parent they had might die, hadn't been kind. Events had been spiraling by.

But if they were going to survive to tell their great-grandchildren about it, which Callum was determined to do, they would need to get moving soon.

Callum had already transferred the supplies into their travel bags. The egg was hidden inside Ezran's bag, as there wasn't much room left in Callum's. The supplies had taken up a lot of space.

They crept out of the tent they shared, Callum having refused to leave his brother's side.

The camp was eerily quiet, only disturbed by the occasional murmur of conversation between the night guard. There were six guard posts spread randomly around camp, or at least it was random to Callum. Maybe it made sense to them.

"Halt! Where do you think you're going?" The guard who caught them asked.

"Uh... just going to answer natures call." Callum laughed awkwardly.

"Both of you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm scared of the dark." Ezran piped up.

A lie. Ezran spent most of his time crawling through dark tunnels to avoid his lessons.

"You're not allowed to go to the east side."

_'Play dumb.'_ Callum thought.

"Uh, which side is the east side?"

The guard sighed.

"I'll accompany you. You wouldn't want to get lost so soon. We just found you after all."

"That's really not necessary." Callum hurried to say.

"I insist."

Callum and Ezran shared a look as the guard led them away from the main encampment into the woods. The crackle of the distant fire and the soft hoot of a hunting owl were dampened by the dread Callum felt in the pit of his stomach.

What were they going to do? They needed to get away but how were they going to get past the guard? It wasn't like they could just knock him out.

They neared a field of bushes and the guard looked at them expectantly.

"Turn around." Callum said.

The guard blushed before he whirled around.

Ezran gave him a look.

"What are we going to do?" He mouthed.

"I don't know!"

Callum looked around him and saw a stone a few feet from him.

'I can't believe I'm doing this.' He thought.

He picked up the rock and threw it into the forest on his left.

"Oh no! What's that?" Callum asked in faked panic.

"Probably just an animal. Nothing to panic over, kids." He said without turning.

Callum gritted his teeth in frustration before he picked up another rock and threw it.

"Oh dear, I heard it again! Do you see that? I think I just saw someone behind those trees." Callum said.

The guard turned to them.

"Really?" He asked dubiously.

"Yeah! I saw it too. " Ezran piped up. "Could you-could you please just go look? I'm scared!"

The guard hesitated but it would seem Ezran's patented "I'm so innocent, how could I ever do anything wrong?" face had won him over.

"Stay here, I'll be back soon."

"We promise we'll stay here."

And with that, the man was off into the woods, looking for a being that didn't exist.

"...Did he really just fall for that?" Ezran asked incredulously.

"I think he did."

Callum was just thankful it had been too dark for the man to see that they had both their travel bags strapped to their shoulders.

They walked near the edge of the woods around the camp, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"I wonder why the east side is so unguarded," Callum said.

Ezran shrugged. "Maybe they didn't think anyone would attack from this side?"

Callum didn't think this was the case. The camp was a place for passing soldiers to rest at and more than half of the soldiers at camp were veterans coming back from the breach. They were a paranoid bunch, they wouldn't leave themselves vulnerable just because they thought an attack was unlikely.

"Ez, I think we should head in a different direction."

But it was too late.

"Callum, look."

Ezran had walked ahead while Callum was deep in his troubling thoughts. Callum hurried to get to his brother.

"Ezran, I don't think-" He froze.

Moonlight shined on the clearing in front of them. Two groups of guards sat around campfires to the left and right of the clearing. At the end of the clearing where the trees started stood six very bedraggled looking Moonshadow elves.

They were bruised and battered with small cuts littering their skin. They looked terrible in every definition of the word.

Callum couldn't even find any satisfaction in the fact that they got a taste of their own medicine. They were largely innocent, like murderous cats. Sure, they had come to kill his dad but they hadn't gotten very far. They had even treated him and Ezran with respect. They didn't deserve to suffer like this.

But what could he do? There were guards on every side and no way to get to them.

"Callum, we need to help them."

"I know but how?" Callum sighed.

"We're going to rescue them." Ezran said before he was moving through the woods around the clearing.

Callum wondered if it was such a good idea.

The answer was a big fat 'No', but when had that ever stopped them before?

Carefully they snuck into the woods around to the back, near where they kept the elves. They made sure to avoid the sticks and loose leaves on the forest floor as much as possible. They hid behind trees when a patrol came too close. The patrols consisted of teams of six.

Once or twice they would stop and every time it felt like Callum's heart sank to his feet with dread but they would move on after a brief moment of frowning.

They finally stopped a few meters from where they kept elves and crouched down behind a particularly large tree.

"Okay," Callum said. "What are we going to do?"

"I'll cause a distraction then you slip Runaan a knife!" Ezran's eyes brightened as he relayed his plan.

"That's a terrible plan." Callum deadpanned. "What if you get caught?"

"Don't worry, I won't."

"What are you even going to do?"

Ezran smiled. "It's a surprise!"

"Are we sure giving an elven assassin a knife is a good idea?"

"I think it's a great idea!"

_'I don't.'_ Callum thought.

Callum hesitated before he drew Ezran into a tight hug.

"Be careful, Ez."

"You too." Ezran's voice said from where his face was squished against Callum's chest.

Callum hugged him for a few moments longer before he reluctantly let go.

Ezran smiled up at him before he disappeared into the trees.

Callum took a deep breath to try to calm down but the pit of anxiety in his stomach wouldn't go away. Callum had made sure to keep Ezran in his sight at almost all times. This was the first time he had let Ezran go out of his sight.

What if something happened? What if Ezran got caught? What if he got hurt and died? What if one of the patrols caught him? What if he's eaten by a bear? Were there even bears in the forest? What if he got lost? Ezran was so tiny in comparison to the large forest they were in, he could easily get lost.

They had never gone in so deep on foot before, had never taken these paths before. They only had a vague idea of where they were.

He-they-the-what if-bad-wrong-he needed to do something!

**BOOOM.**

_'What the-' _

Callum flinched as a small explosion erupted into the night.

_'How did he-'_ Callum gaped.

Callum took a deep breath. He guessed that was the distraction. Or at least he hoped so.

Ezran-

No! He needed to focus. Ezran was fine. Probably. Hopefully. But what if he wasn't? What if-

He sighed._ 'Let's do this.'_


	6. Escape and Rescue (Part 2)

The explosion had gotten rid of most of the soldiers and the rest were too distracted or far away to notice a shadow darting across the clearing to where the assassins were being held captive. The assassin that was currently tied to the tree knew though. Mostly because Callum crashed into them with a harsh 'OOf' sound.

"Uggh," Callum said. "Why are trees so hard?"

"What are you doing here?" Runaan demanded.

"We're here to rescue you...Sort of."

"Rescue us? Why would you do a stupid thing like that?"

"No idea..."

An awkward silence followed before Callum cleared his throat. Awkwardly.

"Anyway, here's a knife."

"What am I to do with a knife?"

"...I don't know. Pick the lock with your magic Assassin skills or something."

"I can't pick the lock with a knife, you idiot. My hands are tied."

"Can't you untie them?"

"Do you know of someone who can unlock heavy chains with a knife with their arm tied behind them?"

"I was kind of hoping you would be that person." He said with a shrug.

Callum practically felt Runaan roll his eyes. He sighed.

"Fine. How am I suppose to get you out here then?"

"Why are you even trying to free us? Why are you even here? Last I heard you were about to go back to your fancy castle." Runaan said bitterly.

"Precisely. We can't go back, not while Viren is still there. I doubt we'll be allowed to live long enough to expose his lies."

"I can understand that but why are you wasting your time freeing us?"

"Look, I don't have the time to explain this to you. The guards will be back any minute now. So tell me how to free you." Callum said frustratedly.

Runaan sighed.

"If you really want to help, then get me the keys."

"What? Are you crazy? There are guards everywhere!"

"These chains are not getting off without those keys. If there was a different way out I would take it but there isn't."

Callum sighed. "Fine. Where are they?"

"By the Western fire. Hurry, the guards are still scattered from your little distraction."

And with another put-out sigh, Callum began navigating his way across the clearing, hiding behind trees every time a group of guards passed by. The first groups had headed in the direction of the explosion, though most now headed towards camp. All in all, there were very little guards around to keep watch on the elves but the ones who were there were jittery and alert, making Callum's task all the harder.

_'Man, it hasn't been half an hour and we already have half the camp breathing down our necks. Why am I doing this again?'_ He thought.

Not that he even needed to think about the answer. Ezran would be sad. Things were already terrible enough as it is. Ezran was so, so kind. He deserved better. He deserved to be able to go home, to hug their dad, to sleep in his own bed. He deserved the world and more. Callum couldn't bring Harrow back from the dead, they couldn't go home, they couldn't. The least he could do was make Ezran happy by freeing the elves.

It completely wasn't because Callum couldn't stand seeing them suffer like that. It wasn't the horror of seeing them, they who had been so strong, like that. It wasn't because they had treated them like...like people. It wasn't because his heart hurt and eyes burned at the thought of Viren turning them ingredients to fuel his foul magic. It was to make Ezran happy.

That's what he told himself anyway.

He hid behind the tree and looked at the lone guard at the fire. The glint of fire on the metal keys on his hip was a golden beacon. The only question was how he was going to get it.

After a few seconds of thinking, he came to a reluctant plan. Quietly he snuck up behind the man with a stone in his hand. He needed to be quiet about this. If he played this right and hit him with just enough power to knock him out but not enough to kill him and get the key, he would be able to free the elves, get Ezran and never have to deal with them ever again.

Then they would then travel to the Banther lodge for supplies and recovery before they headed for the safety of the breach. He just needed to be quiet and-

**Crack**

_'Well, shit.'_ He thought as the sound of a branch snapping underfoot reached the guard in front of him. _'There goes that plan.'_

The guard whirled around or at least tried to but Callum was already there and struck him on the back of his head, near the neck. He slumped and Callum tried to catch him to gently put him on the ground but instead buckled under his weight. Scratch that, her weight. Callum blushed as he slipped from underneath the female guard and flipped her over.

Callum remembered Soren teaching him hand-to-hand combat during their usual training. Soren had become frustrated with Callum's inability to defend himself in a fight and had decided to teach him the basics of self-defense in order to make sure he didn't die if he ever landed himself in a situation in which he found himself unarmed and vulnerable. Callum...hadn't done too great but he at least remembered most of it.

Callum quickly took the keys of the unconscious guard before muttering a quiet "Sorry" and hurrying back to where the elves were chained.

"I have the keys."

"Well? Are you going to keep wasting time or are you going to unlock these chains?"

"Wow, rude much."

"We wouldn't be in this situation if not for you." Runaan grit out.

"Just saying a 'thank you' would be nice. Sheesh."

_'Ungrateful elvish assholes.' _

"Hey, Callum."

Callum jumped as Ezran seemed to just appear at his elbow. Runaan didn't even so much as bat an eye, which Callum thought was entirely unfair.

"Ezran! When-what-how did you even-?" He stuttered.

Ezran just blinked up innocently at him.

He sighed. "You know what? Never mind." He shook his head and started unlocking Runaan and the other elves chains. By now the rest had woken up. Callum didn't know how far they were going to get with how injured they were. He hoped that they would be able to get away in time and, somewhere deep inside his heart, he hoped that they would all get to go home and hug their loved ones, if they had any.

"Okay, time to go."

They were standing near the tree line, about to leave when things started going wrong. They had already freed the elves who had taken their wounded a little further away, Callum and Ezran heading in the opposite direction. They had needed to access how bad the wounded were and hardly paid any attention to Callum and Ezran, who silently slipped away.

"I don't think so."

They both tensed as Soren and Claudia, both uncharacteristically somber, stepped out of the shadows.

"Where do you think you're going step-prince?" Soren asked.

Callum would admit it. Soren acting so serious scared him. He had never seen his like this before. It was so... not Soren-ly.

"We're leaving." Callum said as he stepped forward to block Ezran from their sight.

It was the wrong thing to say, however, as archers surrounded them in a loose circle. The archers nocked their arrows. Callum was all that was standing in their way from killing Ezran.

"Why Callum?" Claudia asked, her face full of betrayal.

"It's because your father is a traitor, Claudia! I'm not going back there whilst your father has free range to do whatever he wants and I sure as heck won't allow you to drag my brother back to the castle and into the merciless hands of that monster." Callum spat the words at her like venom.

Claudia flinched back as if his words were a physical blow, her face transforming into monstrous anger.

"How dare you? My father has done nothing but look after the royal family! He sacrificed hours of his time for you. No one grieves as deeply as he does over what happened."

"Oh, I'm sure he is." He said sarcastically.

"What's gotten into you? The Callum I know would never say something like that."

"He grew up and hit the cold hard wall of reality, something he wouldn't have had to do if VIREN WEREN'T A TRAITOR TO THE CROWN!" He shouted pointedly.

"He is not a traitor!" Claudia said.

The soldiers were starting to become uneasy. They didn't feel comfortable pointing arrows at children, much less the princes of Katolis.

Callum sighed. "I'm not going to discuss this with you, Claudia. You love your father too much to see the truth. I just wish it didn't have to come to this."

"Let's talk about this."

"You're my friends, so I'm only going to say this once. Get out of our way and pretend you never saw us."

"No." Claudia said. "Archers, take prince Callum and-"

Accept one young archer hadn't been quite listening. All he had heard was 'archers' and made a decision based off of what he thought they wanted. This is exactly why one should never develop a crush on one's superior officer. Or at least that was what all the soldiers said afterward.

Callum watched as if in slow motion as an arrow flew through the air towards him. Objectively speaking, he knew it would go through his shoulder and into his neck, causing a slow and terrible death as he slowly choked on his own blood.

Could he dodge in time to avoid being hit?

No, and even if he could, Ezran was behind him and would thus die.

So...this was how he was going to die? Protecting his brother?

It was a good way to die, he thought. He had just hoped death would meet him a bit later in life. Still, not a bad way to die. At least now he wouldn't have to break it Ezran that their dad was dead.

Wow, he... had a lot of regrets.

He regretted never calling king Harrow 'dad'.

He regretted never telling Ezran everything he knew about their mother.

He regretted never eating all those jelly tarts with Ezran.

He regretted all those times he yelled at Ezran for being annoying.

He regretted not hugging their dad every chance he had.

He regretted that he would never see his brother grow up.

He regretted not drinking that alcohol Soren had offered. He really had wanted to drink his first alcohol before he died.

He regretted never telling Claudia he liked her.

So, this was the end? He wished he had done so many things differently but he guessed it didn't truly matter now.

He was ready.

**WOOSH.**

Except Callum would find himself very disappointed when a large boot knocked him over as it used him as a jumping board and sliced the incoming arrow in two.

Callum tried to orient himself as chaos burst out around him. He found himself very surprised to find himself alive and not dying.

It was a little troubling in fact. He had psyched himself up for this, had prepared and accepted it only for it all to be for nothing?!

_'Stupid elves. They ruin everything.'_

_**Feel free to comment and stuff. If you want more notes and stuff, go check it out on Ao3. There are even better tags. You don't even need an account to read it. Yay. Also posted on Wattpad.**_

_**Without the notes. Obviously.**_

_**I'm such a lazy person. I swear.**_


	7. HCMADWTE (Part 1)

Callum laid in bed. They were currently at the Banther Lodge, at long last. It hadn't been easy getting here, that was for sure.

_-panted as he and Ezran galloped through the woods. After Runaan had saved him from certain death at the point of an arrow, all chaos had broken loose. Ezran pulled him up and then they had run-_

There had been a few hiccups but he didn't want to think about them.

Callum thought it a miracle that he had managed to keep Ezran from seeing most of the bloodshed that happened. Sure, he saw the soldiers fighting the moonshadows, but he hadn't seen much more than that.

Up until they had stumbled upon a dead body. Well, tripped would be the better word for it but Ezran hadn't had the chance to see if it was dead or not. Callum had. Its eyes were wide open and glazed. He knew he was going to be having some new nightmare from now on...

Whatever. Callum was pretty sure he was never going to get a proper good night's rest ever again anyway.

He listened as the elves moved around downstairs and turned onto his side, his back to the door. His hand laid millimeters from the primal stone he had stolen from Claudia.

_"Where do you two think you're going?"_

_Claudia stood barely a few meters from them, blocking their exit and freedom. _

_"Away from here."_

_"Oh really? I don't think so." _

_"Well start thinking so. I am not putting my brother in harm by standing around in a war zone. Get out of our way." His face softened. "Please, Claudia. Don't do this."_

_She hesitated before her face hardened into a glare._

_"Do what, Callum? Your the one being weird! I'm not going to let you go anywhere until you give me an explanation that actually makes sense. No! In fact, your right. You are clearly a threat to yourself and your brother. I'm sorry Callum but you give me no choice." _

_She pulled her primal stone out of her pocket and started making a sign when captain Jack "accidentally" knocked into her. Both Claudia and the orb went flying. Callum took his opportunity and dived for it before Claudia could._

_"Callum what are you doing? Give that back." Claudia was back to being cautious._

_"There's method to my madness, I promise Claudia." He felt like he was begging her. What was he asking here? For her to trust him? To not be angry? That they could remain friends despite how circumstances had turned out?_

_"Callum please." She was as desperate as he. _

_She looked him in the eyes and a thousand words unsaid were told without sound._

_'Don't do anything bad.'_

_'I won't, I promise.'_

_'What's going on?'_

_'Something bad.'_

_'Please. Stay.'_

_"Are you still my friend?"_

_She seemed grim when she answered "Always."_

_"Then forgive me."_

_Callum drew the rune to the only spell he knew. He poured all his frustration and sorrow and terror and everything into the spell and blew._

_Soldiers tumbled head over heels and Runaan dug his sword into the dirt in an effort to not blow away._

_They had run past Claudia and the stunned soldiers as the elves made the same decision. They had managed to steal one of the soldier's horses and fled. It had felt like forever as they made their way to the Banther lodge._

He had been so... exhausted. Emotionally, physically, mentally...

He was tired. But the thoughts of what he had left behind had kept him awake. There would be no rest for him.

He just wanted to keep his brother safe. He just wanted this whole nightmare to end. He wanted to go home. He wanted one of aunt Amaya's warm hugs to tell him everything was going to be okay.

_They had arrived at the Banther Lodge after a day's long riding. There was no one but Callum didn't think it wise to stay more than a night or two. The hoof and boot prints in the mud were far too recent to make anything safe._

_"How are we going to get in, Callum? It's locked."_

_"Uum. Let me think. Dad wouldn't send us here without reason." Callum said. "Wait. Aha! Didn't dad use to leave a spare key in a box hidden in one of the bushes?"_

_It took a bit of searching but they managed to find the key and get in without incident. There wasn't much food inside and the small bit there was "Weapons Grade" as his aunt would say. If she had been there. But she wasn't..._

_Luckily, they had there own supplies as well as the rations they accidentally nabbed with the horse. It wasn't much, but it should be enough to last them until they could get to a village and could buy their own supplies._

_"Callum do you think dad's okay? Why hasn't he done anything if Lord Viren really did hurt him?" Ezran suddenly asked as they ate._

_Callum swallowed. He should tell him. He should. He needed to. He had to. Ezran had a right to know. _

_"I don't know..." Ezran's face fell. He looked worried, sad. "But I'm sure he's fine!" Callum quickly said._

_'Why am I such a coward? I should just tell him. Why can't I just tell him? _

_They ate in quiet. It all tasted like ash in his mouth but whether that was because of circumstances or if it was just because the food was inheritably bland, he couldn't say._

_"He'll be okay." Ezran suddenly said. Callum lifted his eyes from where they had rested on a stain on the floor. Ezran had accidentally dropped some stew there when he was seven. They hadn't wanted to get in trouble, so they had moved the chairs so no one would ever know. _

_Thinking back, their parents probably had._

_"Yeah. Everything will be alright." He said._

_"Well, isn't this... touching." Runaan said from the doorway._

_Behind him, the rest of the assassins rested. It would seem they would be having some company._

At this rate, he was never going to have any peace. Callum rolled over and went to sleep. Tomorrow was a new day.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning dawned bright and early. Callum turned over and buried his face into his pillow then pulled the blanket over his head when that failed to protect him from the sun's beams. He gave a large groan before trying to go back to sleep.

Just five more minutes,maybe another ten? Then he would get up,he promiced. He was so tired, why couldn't everything just be quiet?

The elves disagreed apearantly if the loud noices coming from the kitchen were any indication.

Callum raised his head and looked around the room before thumping back against the mattres. Groaning, he rolled out of bed and got to his feet.

Light streemed in from gaps between the curtens, bathing everything, including his pillow, in light. Callum and Ezran's packs stood in the courner by the door, ready for if they needed to make a speedy retreat out the window.

Yawning, he made his way to the cupboards and took out some new clothes to wear. Dressing swiftly, he thought about what he was going to do and say. They needed a game plan and now that he had gotten at least a few hours of sleep, without nightmares to pull him down, he was finally in the right state of mind to plan it.

...Maybe in ten minutes?

It really was a nice day. The sun was shining and as a slight wind rustled throught the trees, birds singing their songs, he couldn't help feeling content. The last couple of days had really been rough on them. Callum had never been so stressed before in his life. If that was the kind of stress that Soren was put through, he could simpithise somewhat with him.

Of course, King Harrow hadn't killed Soren's dad and he hadn't needed to flee for his and his younger sibling's life...

The small smile that had been forming fell from his face. He still needed to tell Ezran.

Callum didn't know how he was going to do that. How was he suppose to do that? Oh no,no,no,no.

What was he going to do? How was he going to- He couldn't do that!

But someone has to. It would be best coming from him. He was going to ask at some point. It was bound to come up at some point, he knew.

He couldn't exactly hide the truth from Ezran forever. It just wasn't possible, as much as he wished it was.

He sighed.

No choice about it. He needed to sit Ezran down and have THE Talk. How was he going to phrase it, so it would hurt the least?

"'Hey, Ezran. You know how I said Viren was a traitor? Well, I meant it in a far more real sense. He betrayed us in more ways in one. Stole the egg,brought war upon us and killed king Harrow. How about those pamcakes though?"'

Nope. Definitly not how he would be going about that. Ugh.

Maybe he should just wing it. Right. He'll just wing it.

Gathering his courage, he went over the Ezran's bed only for his heart to jump into his thorat.

Ezran was gone.

Callum stood frozen, staring at an empty bed before hearing laughter from downstairs.

Quickly before he had even registered what he was doing, he was out the door and halfway down the stairs,as quietly as he could.

There, Ezran was sitting with some of the elves, sharing stories and eating breakfast. Unharmed in every way. Callum let out a soft sigh of relief before leaning on the side of the wall and watching them.

It was peaceful.

Though, if anything happened to Ezran, he would kill everyone in this room then go feral, head back to Katolis, kill Viren and then combust.

Yeah, that was a sound plan , he decided.

"Sleep well?"

Callum jumped and spun around, hitting his head against the wall and nearly going down in pile of flailing limbs. His heart beating a thousand miles a minute, he looked at Rayla, one of the younger elves who had somehow snuck up next to him.

Callum didn't know a lot about the elves and the bare minimum he knew about this group of elves didn't really give him enough to be able to have a conversation with her.

All he knew was that she, like the rest of them had come to kill Ezran and King harrow. Which, considering that Harrow and Ezran were his only remaining family and that the only thing keeping them from sticking a blade through both of them was an egg and the elves own honor that they claimed they had, was not comforting.

Here he was thinking he was sneakily watching them when the Queen of sneaky snuck up next to him.

Rayla gave him a look as if to say 'Really?'

Callum huffed.

"You know, you really shouldn't sneak up on people."

"I didn't sneak up on you. I walked over calmly."

"Uhhuh." Callum said. "Sure."

Rayla rolled her eyes.

"You know, you really shouldn't linger in the shadows so much. It makes you look suspicious."

"I'm not-"

"Sure. Whatever. Here. Eat." Rayla cut him off by placing a bowl of soup with bread in the middle in his hands before walking away.

"Thanks..." Callum murmured at her retreating back.

Maybe they weren't doomed to die after all... Maybe.

You never knew.

The stew was delicious though. No use worrying over the future. Not when there was food. Especially with how hungry Callum was.

The roof could have been set on fire and Callum doubted he would care at that point. Seriously. Food. Yum.

_**Guess who's not dead? Haha. Oops...**_

_**This is not as late as you might think,becuase I already updated on Ao3 and wattpad but I forgot you guys becuase you can't update from your phone. Anyway! Here you go! **_

_**Review and like! **_

_**I can't fix anything and improve the story if you don't tell me where I make mistakes!**_

_**Review!**_


	9. Chapter 9

"Uh, Mr Runaan, Sir." Callum stammered.

Runaan looked up from where he was sitting outside on a rock, sharpening his blade with a whetstone.

Callum cleared his throat awkwardly. "I was, uh wondering, what exactly is going to happen to us?"

Runaan stared at him until Callum started squirming before looking back down to continue sharpening his sword.

"You two will be our prisoners. We will be taking you to the Dragon Queen who will deliver judgement." He said, not looking up.

"Oh, okay. Cool." Callum shifted awkwardly before turning around to walk away.

He hardly took three steps before freezing as Runaan called out.

"If you or your brother try to escape or hinder us or even if I suspect you are trying to sabotage us... Well, we only really need one of you."

Callum felt cold inside at those words. He tried to still his trembling hands. "Understood." Callum tried hard to keep the coldness out of his voice. Best not to anger Runaan more than needed. Aunt Amaya always told him to pick his battles carefully.

Runaan clearly wasn't fooled though but beyond twitching, he didn't do much else.

Callum started walking away when,

"Also, try not to hit anyone in the groin again."

Callum blushed bright red and cringed. Not his finest moment. Not his finest plan either.

"Sorry about that. Won't happen again." Callum then proceeded to run away.

After the Prince fled, Runaan put down his whetstone, resting his sword next to the other one against his knee.

He looked down at them and couldn't help the smile that bloomed there. To think these pieces of masterfully crafted steel made to steal life and shed blood was crafted by the gentlest being in Xadia.

He sighed. He missed Ethari. He missed his husband so dearly during these confusing times. He would know what to do. Rayla listened to him. Sure, she listened to Runaan too but she had disobeyed him much more than she did Ethari.

And this time the cost of her insubordination could have larger repercussions than simply being grounded, not just for her but for all of them.

Rayla had put both the team and the mission in danger by not killing that scout.

He knew she wasn't ready. He wasn't sure if she would ever be ready. Ethari had known. He had told Runaan she couldn't do it, had begged him not to bring her along. She might have been a natural-born combatant but she was too innocent to kill. She didn't understand that sometimes you had to make difficult decisions, that sometimes the lives of many outweighed the life of one and that sometimes the life of one outweighs the lives of many.

It was a give and take. They did not take life lightly and they do not take death lightly, no matter how much he sometimes wished it was so.

But the life of an Assassin was not an easy one and if it was...

Then it would make them no better than those they killed.

She would have been a natural-born Dragongaurd but that time had passed. He sighed. He had already shed those tears. He would not and could not continue to mourn a future passed and he especially could not mourn for those considered traitors by their own people.

Now...

He needed to talk to Rayla about what happened.

If they survived this, with or without all their limbs intact, was yet to be seen. If they did though, he was going to retire and spend time with Ethari.

Rayla would not become an assassin. Not after this. He wouldn't allow it. It would destroy her. He made a vow to her parents he would protect her like his own daughter and she was. She was their daughter. His and Ethari's as much as she was Lain and Tiadrin's daughter, if not more so.

They had raised her. He should have known this would happen. Had suspected it would but had hoped not, had tricked himself into believing she would.

That she was strong enough to endure.

He needed to talk to Rayla.

_'How could you let this happen?'_ Amaya angrily signed.

"This is not my fault." Viren hissed.

Lord Viren, General Amaya, and her personal translator Gren stood in the throne room arguing. Tensions ran high as the status of the two princes waxed and waned from dead to alive to dead to missing.

"Isn't it? You should have protected the king and the princes. Instead, the king is dead and the fate of the princes is unknown." Gren translated as Amaya signed furiously.

"I know that General. You cannot be blind to how much this hurts me. Harrow...Harrow was like a- a brother to me." Viren said, grief heavy in his voice.

"Oh really? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're all but pawing at the throne."

"That's not true and you know it." He jabbed his arm through the air.

_'Do I?'_

Viren gave her a wounded look. "How can you say that..."

Amaya sagged. _'I'm sorry. That was wrong of me to say. You grieve as much as I do. I just want this entire thing to end.'_

"As do I. I just want the princes found and for all of this to be over as much as you but fighting is not going to get us closer to finding the princes. We need to work together."

Amaya nodded.

"You need to take the throne."

Amaya's hands stilled at Viren's words.

_'Excuse me.'_

Viren gave a harsh sigh. "Katolis needs a ruler, especially during such hard times as these-"

_'No.'_

"No?"

"The throne must stay empty. Ezran is the true king of Katolis."

"'King' Ezran is currently captured by Moonshadow elves and quite possibly even dead."

_'It's wrong, Viren.' _

"If you want to save the boys, you must take the throne."

General Amaya still looked reluctant.

"The people respect you. They will follow you. Once the children are found, you can make a decision to abdicate but for now..."

He looked out the window and into the courtyard.

"The people need you and they need you to be strong."

General Amaya sighed and rubbed her forehead.

_'I'll think about it.'_

"That is all I ask."

_'No, it's not but I will not waste more time arguing with you. What information do we have pertaining to the boys?'_

"Well..." He said and turned to the table where a large map lay.

In Viren's room, a mirror stood. It remained dark and dormant.


End file.
